Re: A letter from L Ron Hubbard
[15 Aug 2000]

In article , "Devoid" says...
>"Warrior" wrote in message
>news:8nd0q4$of8@drn.newsguy.com...
>> In December 1997 I had the pleasure of meeting Rod Keller
>> for the first time. I had brought a few things with me on
>> my trip to Clearwater, and I was excited about sharing my
>> experiences in Scientology (and in particular the Sea Org)
>> with him. One of the documents I gave Rod was a photocopy
>> of my letter from L Ron Hubbard dated February 22, 1977.
>>
>> Here's my story behind this letter:
>>
>> Some time around late 1976, Wayne Marple was sent to
>> PAC (Pacific Area Command) with orders from Hubbard.
>> The mission was dubbed "A Commodore's Mission" and
>> was run from Flag as FMO 1674. (FMO means Flag Mission
>> Order). Wayne had another "missionnaire" by the name
>> of Jack Dirmann as his "Mission 2nd". Jack's wife at
>> the time was Irene Dirmann, who was the Commanding
>> Officer at ASHO Day, which was the "org" I was working
>> in.
>>
>> Wayne, as the FMO 1674 1st, ordered a mandatory briefing
>> for all Sea Org staff. The order was given that all staff
>> were to report for a briefing by the "missionnaires"; the
>> briefing was to be held in the Saint Hill Special Briefing
>> Course courseroom of ASHO after dinner. At that time, ASHO
>> located at 2723 West Temple Street in Los Angeles. This was
>> prior to the LA area "orgs" moving into the old Cedars of
>> Lebanon Hospital Complex (aka Big Blue, or Pacific Area Command)
>> in Hollywood, where ASHO is presently located.
>>
>> During the briefing, Wayne announced that he and Jack had
>> purchased a property and a building which was to be the new
>> location for the Cadet Organization (this is the name of
>> the "org" for children of Sea Org parents). Soon the Cadet
>> Org was to be moved from its current location on Melrose
>> Avenue. Wayne explained that the new facility was in a
>> location quite a distance from ASHO and the other PAC "orgs".
>> He informed us that due to the distance from the "org", parents
>> would not be allowed to live with, nor would they be allowed
>> to see their children every day.
>>
>> It would "cut across production" too much, he explained.
>> The Sea Org was busy "clearing the planet", and if parents
>> were to spend time driving to and from the new Cadet Org
>> in order to spend an hour per day with their children, it
>> would simply not be "the greatest good for the greatest
>> number of dynamics". After all, the "highest purpose in
>> the universe" is being a dedicated Sea Org member and helping
>> "the Commodore" achieve the Sea Org's "purpose" -- "getting
>> ethics in on this planet and the universe". It would hurt
>> "production stats" if parents were "off post" each day to spend
>> time with their children.
>>
>> We were told in no uncertain terms, that "counter intention"
>> to the "Commodore's orders" would result in severe punishment,
>> such as assignment to the "Rehabilition Project Force", or
>> "RPF".
>>
>> "This *IS* the Commodore's intention", Wayne commanded, in a
>> "Tone 40" voice, "and *no* counter-intention will be allowed
>> to cut across the Commodore's orders." Wayne further informed
>> us, in no uncertain terms, that "no HE&R would be allowed"
>> (HE&R means human emotion and reaction) since that is a
>> "response from the reactive mind".
>>

>> Needless to say, this "revelation" didn't sit well with quite
>> a number of Sea Org members, particularly parents. I couldn't
>> believe what I was hearing! My son was only two years old
>> at the time, and there was no way I was going to allow him to
>> live miles away from me on a ranch where I would only be able
>> to see him once a week. It was *unthinkable* -- _completely_
>> out of the question in my mind.
>>
>> I just knew that what Wayne was telling us couldn't be true,
>> so I decided to write to Hubbard. After all, Hubbard said
>> in his "Standing Order Number One" that "all communications
>> addressed to me shall be recieved by me" and that "by my own
>> creed a being is as valuable as he may assist others".
>>
>> So I sat down and wrote a detailed letter explaining how I
>> felt that there was something wrong -- that it just couldn't
>> be his intention because it was in contradiction with his
>> words on the subject of children in his book _Child Dianetics_.
>>
>> I referenced the section in Hubbard's book where he says
>> to "spend the hour or two with him [the child] and do whatever
>> he asks you to do, within reason of course" and to "set aside
>> a time during the day when the child can do anything he desires
>> which doesn't hurt animals or property". (ref: _Child Dianetics_,
>> copyright L Ron Hubbard 1951, 1967 and 1968, chapter 8, page 93)
>>
>> I politely pointed out to Ron that the Flag Missionnaire was
>> telling us something which contradicted Ron's "Source materials"
>> regarding children.
>>
>> After explaining the situation to Hubbard, I asked him *one*
>> simple question. It was:
>>
>> "Is it your intention that Sea Org parents only be allowed to
>> see their children once a week?"
>>
>> The very short reply I received from Ron a few weeks later was:
>>
>> "My intention regarding this is covered in PAC Base Order Series
>> 18; I suggest you read them."
>>
>> So I read the issues which comprise PAC Base Order Series 18, and
>> was still very perplexed because the PAC Base Orders contradicted
>> Hubbard's "Source materials", and since the PAC Base Order issues
>> were written by Wayne Marple, Hubbard's writings took precedence
>> over the "non-Source materials" (materials not written by Ron).
>>
>> Once again I sat down and wrote a letter to Ron. I told him that
>> I had read the issues and that my question still remained. And
>> being the model Scientologist and Sea Org member I was at the
>> time, I asked him:
>>
>> "Is it your intention that Sea Org parents only be allowed to
>> see their children once a week?"
>>
>> The next letter I received from Ron said:
>>
>> "If you haven't done so, I suggest you get it word cleared
>> in Qual."
>>
>> A copy of that letter is webbed at
>> http://parishioner.org/warrior/so1.jpg
>>
>> I was stunned! I simply hadn't expected Ron *not* to answer my
>> question! After all, I had asked him a very specific and direct
>> question. I decided that I was going to leave the Sea Org since I
>> was not going to be allowed to be able to see my child every day.
>>
>> So I announced to the Ethics Officer that I intended to leave the
>> Sea Organization. Upon hearing this, I was assigned a "condition
>> of doubt" and ordered to undergo an extensive "security check". The
>> SuperCargo, Alan Prager, told me I was "psychotic" for wanting to
>> leave the Sea Org. And the Director of Personnel Enhancement,
>> Peggy Peden, told me, "You'll pull in something horrible, like death,
>> if you leave the Sea Org".
>>
>> For 17 weeks I remained in "doubt" and continued to work approximately
>> 100 hours every week *without* pay or time off from my post, while I
>> received a "sec check" -- called an "HCO WW Form One" -- designed to
>> find my "overts and withholds".
>>
>> Warrior
>> See http://parishioner.org/warrior/
>>
>
>
> Warrior, did you know at the time that your letter
> was being answered by an Lrh Communicator ?
>
> Devoid

I wasn't sure if Hubbard was answering. Of course, the LRH
Communicator ASHO Day (Kathy Drayton) told us that Hubbard
loved to get letters from staff. And we were told by her
that Hubbard worked amazingly fast -- could read and dictate
with lightning speed -- like a superhuman being whose "particle
flow" was incredible.

After getting a few letters from "Ron" which were insulting
to my intelligence (they were _non-answers_ as far as I was
concerned), I decided that Hubbard probably wasn't dictating
the replies or signing them himself.

I observed that the signatures on the letters I received from
"Ron" varied greatly. Some signatures showed markedly deeper
impressions on the paper than others. And some signatures just
didn't look at all like the others.

I also remember ASHO's LRH Communicator Secretary, John LaVoie,
showing me how well he could sign Hubbard's name. He seemed to
be almost bragging over how nicely he could "duplicate" Hubbard's
signature, although he never admitted to signing letters supposedly
from the "old man".

There was also a time when I received a letter from "Ron" saying,

"Dear Mark, Thank you very much for bringing this situation to my
attention. You will very shortly see a change. Love, Ron"

The situation referred to is the "List One Era" in PAC when Sea Org
members were being RPF'd for supposedly being "List One R/Sers".
I had written to "Ron" because the percentage of Sea Org staff
who were being "found to be R/Sers" was way too high.

Although it had been many weeks -- maybe even a few months -- since
I had written my letter to "Ron", on the day I finally received
an answer I had been anticipating, a new CMO Mission arrived at
the Complex and set up a "Board of Review" to "correct the
injustices" that had occurred by the "RPFing" of so many staff.

That seemed just a bit too coincidental, and I suspected that
Kathy Drayton had simply typed up the letter and signed it a few
minutes before walking into my office and handing it to me with
her big toothy grin all over her face, looking like the cat that
just ate the canary.

I think that by two years into the Sea Org (late 1977), I had
realized that Hubbard most likely was not personally answering
the vast majority of his letters.

The lies in Hubbard's "SO#1" issue are just more Hubbardian crap
designed to deceive people. My opinion is that it was a cleverly
created lie intended to be a means to covertly gather information.

As I was writing the article, I almost titled it "A letter from
'L Ron Hubbard'".